In Which Carlos Asks For Rachel McAdam's Autograph
by Mr. Omelette
Summary: If there was one thing about Kendall that is unknown to the fan-universe, it is that he is the man-wifey of Logan Henderson. But unfortunately for him, Carlos was planning a Cargan sneak attack.


Disclaimer: I do not own BTR

* * *

><p><strong>In Which Carlos Asks For Rachel McAdam's Autograph<strong>

The necktie of one Carlos Pena Jr. was crooked.

And Logan Henderson can't keep staring at it; the way how the weird angle was staring at him, _mocking_ him. Yeah, he just can't ignore it.

Kendall Schmidt leaned forward; towards his friend in the seat in front of him, "Logan, hey, do you remember what-"

Again, Logan can't keep staring at the _freaken_ necktie; how the off angle made Carlos' collar crease, that mordant look of the inanimate object making his hands tingle and itch.

"-because our manager couldn't-"

Carlos didn't seem to pay any attention to it because he was too busy staring at his iPhone.

"-so we can get back in the apartment early and then we-"

Their stylist had just sent them off to their car after she had finished (double-checked even) choosing the clothes they would wear for the interview. Logan was pretty aware it was fleshed out in that nice, perfect angle before they boarded their van, and somewhere between their ride, Carlos had managed to crane his neck just a little bit that his necktie got warped.

He felt Kendal's hand on his shoulder, "Logan, were you listening to me?"

"Uh," came his intelligent reply, "Yeah, we go in the interview, then the fan signing, and then home, all without a wardrobe change."

Kendall nodded, reclining back to his seat beside James as the van slowed down as the traffic light flickered in orange. "Good, I didn't think you were listening to me."

James Maslow was trying to squeeze in a few minutes of sleep, head resting back, mouth agape a bit and drool line forming as it slid down from his mouth. Logan decided to place his jacket as a make-shift pillow for James because Logan was very aware of how irate the tall man could get whenever he woke up awkwardly.

Logan Henderson, however, can't keep staring at the awkwardly placed necktie.

"Just," he started, finally giving in; "Lemme…" and he grabbed the piece of clothing hanging on his friend's neck and straightened it. Oh _God_, that felt wonderful. Carlos must've seen the sigh of contentment that left Logan's mouth because he chuckled, "Sorry, I forgot how neurotic you were."

Logan rolled his eyes, "A 'thank you' would've sufficed."

"Thanks, Logie." Carlos grinned, using that awfully _sissified_ nickname of his that Logan hated with a passion, and stared ahead, listening to the droning chatter coming from their managers lips as he spoke to someone on the phone.

"Quit it." Kendall warned, trying to avoid the petty squabble that hung in the air. It's sad; they were grown men, in their 20s, and yet they were still prone to childish behavior.

"Am I neurotic, Kendall?"

The blonde sighed. Mount Henderson was simmering, "No you're not."

"Brutally honest?"

Kendall, defeated, exhaled, "You're a perfectionist." Because you don't lie to a friend, especially Logan.

Logan wanted to roll his eyes, "So I'm neurotic?"

"They're two different things, Logan."

Carlos clapped Logan's shoulder, "Don't worry, I think it's endearing."

Logan, disgruntled, was tightlipped.

* * *

><p>In retrospect though, Carlos doesn't have any idea how it ended that way; you know, a sulking Logan.<p>

It was all too prevalent in the interview they did for some magazine.

The question was directed to Logan -the clingiest of the three- despite said man insistent wailing that it was Carlos instead.

"So, Logan, fans really like that you're very physical in showing your affection to your band mates." This earned a snort from Kendall and a chuckle from James, "Is there any one among your band mates you're most comfortable with?"

Logan didn't even look up to the other three people he was sitting with when he blurted out, "Well, it's actually pretty simple. I devised this best friend system; whoever I'm stuck the most for the day becomes my best friend for the entire 24 hours."

The interviewer and Logan laughed at this, "What about if you don't have any schedule for the day? How does your system cope with that?"

Logan shrugged, "I'm pretty sure the first person I see gets to be my homie." He laughed because of his endearment of using 'homie.' Makes it feel like they're in a frat or something.

Of course, in the eye of the normal person, they wouldn't suspect that Logan was seething and sulking. Because Logan's an actor. Professional through and through. And unfortunately only a few people would've noticed. And most unfortunately, only Carlos would've noticed it.

* * *

><p>So after that interview, Kendall had this smug look on his face throughout the whole day. And it's irritating. <em>Absolutely infuriating<em>. Because they're roommates and Kendall's the first person he sees.

Logan might be an early bird; however, usually, Kendall is like a corpse when he sleeps.

James was too happy to point that information out, because Logan routinely helps James prepare breakfast, casually ratting out that it is him that Logan wakes up first because he cooks for everyone, thus making James the usual best friend of the day.

Of course, Kendall wasn't too happy to hear that, telling James that Logan wakes everyone up all at the same time, and that since Logan and Kendall were roommates, it was already bound from the start that Kendall's the first that he sees.

James of course made his most intelligent reply, which Carlos clearly remembers as something that Logan was none too happy to hear about given his colorful choice of words.

Thus, making Logan even more pissed than he already is.

Therefore, Logan ended relaying seething threats in hushed tones and bright smiles before exiting the building.

Ergo, why the three were feeling guilty for being immature.

"Did I do something wrong?" asked James.

Of course he wouldn't have any idea – he was asleep when it happened.

Kendall and Carlos shared a knowing look. And they both agreed they'd fix it.

* * *

><p>So the three ended up discussing the remedy; only to find that the three were agreeing to disagree on the method they would use.<p>

So, it turned into this one big, giant competition wherein the first person Logan would forgive would win. (Carlos still has no idea how it ended that way but at this point in his life with the boys, he doesn't really care much anymore.)

And _so_, here was Carlos, skimming through the romance section in the local bookstore found near their apartment. Logan said he was going to try reading one, only because there was this book recommended by a cute clerk some time ago. If only he could've remembered what the title was.

"Still looking for that book?" came the smug voice of James. Damnit, he shouldn't have told him his plan. Party pooper. Carlos looked at the tall brunette, "And you?" James was more than pleased to raise his hands as he treated the paper bag like it was a child going through a baptismal ceremony.

"What are you doing here?" There was only one situation where the words 'James Maslow' and 'bookstores' would mesh, and that's only when the word 'hates' is in between them. Or when the phrase 'forced by Logan' is added.

"Came here to gloat."

"The winner's yet to be decided."

James laugh, "I'm going to make something for Logan, I'm sure he'll find my… efforts better than a bought book."

Carlos ignored him because he thinks he just saw the title.

"Dude, are you buying Logan a romance novel?" and people were noticing, because half of BTR's in the romance section choosing sappy crap for their sulking friend. In fact, a few girls were giggling as the watched them.

"He said he wanted this…" answered Carlos, walking to the cashier.

* * *

><p>Carlos was happy, beaming in fact, as he rode up the elevator beside James. Happy because he found the book he was looking for (the cashier told him that she was the one who recommended said book to his friend and she was pretty convincing), not to mention James managed to break three of his dozen eggs, and the fact that Kendall was nowhere in sight. Kendall…<p>

_Crap._

If there was one thing about Kendall that is unknown to the fan-universe, it is that he's the man-wifey of Logan Henderson. _Homie_ is the more appropriate term but man-wifey is how Carlos sees it. And because of that tiny detail, Logan was going to choose Kendall's gift by default. And by default, Carlos was doomed from the start.

_Not if I can help it_. He thought, getting an even better idea.

* * *

><p>That night, when Logan finished announcing to everyone (albeit to no one in particular) that he was going to retire in his room. Er, room he shared with Kendall. Carlos carefully exited the room without being noticed.<p>

Kendall was pouting because Logan refused to acknowledge anyone in the room, even after he had brought out the big guns; an all-nighter with some RPG game and pizza.

James was in the kitchen, doing the dishes because it was his turn today. Not to mention he was practicing his gift for Logan. Whatever that meant.

It was pretty easy sneaking out. In fact, Carlos was used to sneaking out. Coming from a very comfortable family, he had honed his instincts whenever he snuck out of the house to play with his friends in the neighborhood when his duties and practice time got a little boring.

Logan, he thought, this was of course to not make Logan mad anymore. Because an angry Logan is the worst thing possible. And trust him on this, the very few instances when Logan threw a tantrum, well, let's not talk about that.

Pressing the 'G' button, Carlos hummed some nameless song that he heard from somewhere.

* * *

><p>Now that he was out on the open, he needed a disguise, because BTR's growing popularity is getting pretty intense. Can't have people following you right? You also don't want to cause some mayhem like those Beiber spottings right? What is it with that dude anyway? HE sings like a GIR-<p>

Okay, he just passed a 24-hour costume rental shop. The flashing neon lights and the shabby interior designs made him a bit apprehensive, but whatever, he would return it right away.

Carlos pushed the door open, nodded at the goth-looking clerk, who stared at him uncaringly, and quickly skimmed at the selections. There were three people inside; him, the male goth clerk reading some magazine, and some guy or girl (he can't know for sure) picking up some weird pixie wing ornament.

"Excuse me," Carlos started and the clerk looked at him, "Do you rent trench coats?"

The goth gave him a good hard look, like he was assessing him or he recognized Carlos, "Don't know…" he gave up in thinking and went back to his magazine, which was actually an adult magazine. And Carlos made a face, not because of the clerk's rudeness but with the clerk's choice of reading material. Voyeurism makes Carlos feel queasy, after all.

Instead of voicing it out, however, Carlos simply strolled back to the racks and boxes and shelves of thingamabobs, outlandish costumes, and basically craps on display. Until he found what he was looking for; an old tattered brown trench coat.

Plucking it between the leathery devil costume and a Captain America one that smelled like feet, Carlos gave it a whiff to see if he could bear being in it. Smelled like, well, it didn't smell so bad. And Kendall's weekly mounds of laundry smelled worse. So he tried it on.

It fit him a little too loosely and the sleeves were too long for his average arms. Whatever, he just folded it, and it's a trench coat so it's okay if it's a couple of sizes too big. He glanced at a nearby mirror and saw that he didn't look that bad in it.

"I'd like to rent this please…" Carlos told the clerk politely. The clerk merely grunted in reply and did the transaction.

He left the costume rental place, 2.99 bucks lighter.

* * *

><p>There was a dodgy looking man selling imitation eyewear on the street. Or course, Carlos doesn't support what these people did, but he was on a deadline. Being conspicuous and paranoid (he did not want to have a scandal wherein the media would speculate him supporting fake imitations), he picked up one random pair, handed the man five dollars and simply ran away as fast as he can.<p>

The man made no move to stop him, probably because Carlos thinks he paid too much, but he's got the disguise now.

Putting on the fake Gucci glasses, he assessed himself; his Hispanic features, the trench coat, his faded blue jeans, his plain grey shirt, the worn-in sneakers, and the impossibly dark sunglasses made him look a bit suspicious. But he can safely say he looked rather dashing. Mysteriously dashing, that is.

His last spot was the restaurant; and it's the most crucial part of his plan.

* * *

><p>Carlos was in TMZ.<p>

Wait, _what_?

Logan jolt up from his bed as the shock overwhelmed him.

It was a rerun from last night's episode. The lawyer guy is making fun of the fact that Carlos was in a disguise.

Wait, _disguise_?

The story went like this; their guy was going to stalk Rachel McAdams as she headed to a restaurant that she frequently dined in. And on that particular day, the guy caught Carlos of BTR – in complete fail disguise mode – trying to inch closer to Rachel McAdams' table.

And it was a _very_ painful thing to watch, mind you.

In fact, the camera guy had to tell Rachel that Carlos was trying to ogle her. And that Rachel McAdams, being the awesome person that she is, decided to save the boy the trouble and finally invited him to the table. And this was a weird situation for Carlos, not just because of his stupid trench coat and his obviously fake sunglasses, but because his celebrity crush was Megan Fox.

"CARLOS PENA JUNIOR!" Logan did not care about the fact that it is way too early or if he was being rude to his neighbors or if he was screaming like a banshee, "YOU ARE A DEAD MAN!"

How was he to mend this situation? The humiliation he brought on the group! And their image! What happen to their image now? What about the show? Will they pull Carlos off of the band because of this stunt? And-and…

"CARLOS PENA JUNIOR! I am so gonna-ack"

"Shut up, Logie… it's too early." was what Kendall said after hurling his pillow to his roommate.

Seething, Logan hurled the pillow back and went to the room that shared by James and Carlos.

Kicking the door open, and going to Carlos' bed, Logan pulled his friend's covers off.

"What?" Carlos groaned sleepily.

"You… you… you stupid… ARGH! I can't talk to you right now." And just like that, Logan left the room, fuming and angry and betrayed.

* * *

><p>That little episode made a mark on the group, the aftershocks echoing through breakfast. And breakfast was… well… breakfast was <em>inhumanely<em> awkward.

Kendall and James of course tried to mend it; James tried to spark a conversation about his menu which consisted of toast, omelet and bacon but the two shorter males ignored him while Kendall tried this lame attempt to make a joke, and for once only James seemed to have bothered listening to him. Even offered the fake laugh, just to break the ice.

Logan sat quietly, with a silent wrath that was both scary and awesome. James had never seen Logan in this mood, so he doesn't really know how to deal with it. Kendall has had his fair share of Logan tantrums, and he can say that his friend could really cook up a storm when he's pushed to the edge. (But this really rarely happens because it takes a lot to push his buttons.) This particular incident, on the other hand, is new territory for Kendall because Logan was probably angry for all the right reasons.

Carlos was different from Logan in the anger expressing department; instead of that collected, seething anger that was palpable and thick, Carlos was irritable and a bit loud. James actually had to reprimand his behavior (a thing Logan usually does) because it looked like he might break their China with his rough handling. Kendall's with an epiphany with Carlos, not because he doesn't know how to handle him but because he was aware with what Logan and Carlos were arguing about. To which he was undoubtedly and unabashedly in line with Logan's reasons. James was saving his the judgment; he was pretty sure Carlos did that for Logan. Ironic, and clichéd, but that's what it really is.

"So what do we do?" James felt like tearing his hair out, never had BTR ever had a situation like this. And he doesn't really want to admit it, but the four of them make a_ damn_ good team together so naturally he would do anything to help the group and his friends.

Kendall for once was out of plans. Of course, he wanted to help out because it was two of his friends who were arguing, but that is to say that he doesn't know how to deal with this particular situation.

The two watched as Logan coolly and quietly placed their dishes in the dishwasher. Carlos had stormed off earlier, saying something about fresh air as he slammed their front door.

* * *

><p>James saw Carlos enter their room, fifteen minutes later.<p>

"C'mon, we'll be late for the shooting," James gave an uneasy smile as he pulled some random shirt down. The shower he took earlier made his hair a little flat, and it clung on his forehead a bit.

The shorted man grunted as he grabbed his stuff and went to their shared bathroom.

On the adjacent room, Kendall hopped on Logan's newly made bed. It was weird to not be reprimanded by Logan; he was a little OCD about his things in order.

His friend had just finished his early shower and had pulled out some yellow wifebeater and brown khaki shorts from his closet. Kendall watched his friend as he brought out some sneakers and a white hoodie, "Yes, Kendall?"

Kendall grinned, "So… I was…"

"I'm not in the mood." He hissed under his breath as he checked himself in the mirror, letting his hair fall flat. Kendall frowned, "Okay…"

The raven haired man pocketed his wallet and phone before going out the room. "I'll go ahead. Oh, and make sure you separate my laundry from yours. I don't want another underwear mix-up like last time."

* * *

><p>The thing with the two senior members of the band was their uncanny knack of keeping their emotions bottled up. Oh, they were great actors alright, Kendall thought; not only were they able to function properly today, they also managed to fool everyone on the set that everything was candies and unicorns like they weren't in the middle of a silent, simmering match.<p>

But they could only do so much because Carlos was immediately given the unwanted attention. Everyone on the set was literally making jokes about him and his TMZ moment, not to mention their manager _and_ their management gave them 'The Talk.'

The one about doing unnecessary risks and PR. And by the time they were finished, Carlos looked catatonic.

The Talk got so bad James went to him hearing murmurs that they were _considering_ to cast another Carlos Garcia.

* * *

><p>The ride up to their shared apartment was long, silent and awkward with the two usual motor mouths not talking. And no one thought it was possible to be any more awkward until Kendall fixed James a glare, who tried (futilely) to break the ice.<p>

Usually it was a Carlos-Logan combo, how the two ironically older male would act all childish and bubbly about going home just to uplift the overall mood. Which usually worked, by the way.

Truth be told, this is the first time Kendall had forsaken his title of being leader.

* * *

><p>"Logan," Kendall entered their shared room. His friend was reading a book Kendall's never heard of which is apparently typical in this household. Logan's brown eyes looked at him, not saying anything but emanating a defiant 'what do you want?' vibe.<p>

The blonde hated beating around the bush so he just dived right in, "Look," and he paused because he's become aware again that this is the first time he's seen his friend so pissed, "Just give Carlos a break okay?" And once the floodgates were open, Kendall couldn't stop. He told him all about how the management thought of replacing Carlos, how he got an earful both from the record company AND Nickelodeon, and how he's probably hurting right now.

Of course, Kendall told him how he understands – hell, sides with Logan – with his actions towards Carlos, but its _Carlos_. And he told him what Carlos must be feeling right now, and how Carlos needed to be surrounded and supported by friends.

By the time Kendall has finished up with his speech, Logan was shaking. Kendall wasn't sure if he was shaking in anger, or in fear or something.

"It's just… Carlos and I… we always knew this is what we wanted. And seeing him doing that… _thing_ well, I'm scared for him, you know. I don't even want to think what it would be like without him in the group, and I know you and James will still be there, but Carlos and I… we were here from the start. And… and…"

Logan exhaled. Kendall patted his friend's shoulder.

There was a knock on the door and James was on the door, with a reluctant and downcast Carlos.

"Carlos wants to say something." James pushed Carlos who sent a quick glare to the tallest.

The shortest had his hands on his pockets when he muttered two words.

"I'm sorry." And with that he looked away from the brunet.

No words were spoken, just Logan who smiled. "I'm sorry too." No other words were needed, they had that invisible understanding.

Finally, a couple of seconds later, the four guys laughed.

"Enough of the sappy crap, I'm hungry." Kendall said. The three other men nodded.

"I'll whip up something extra nice." James said rubbing his hands together.

And no one ever spoke of that incident ever again.

* * *

><p>Days later…<p>

"HAPPPEEE BEERTHDAY LOGAN!"

And the brunet was greeted with the sight of his three band mates. James with what looked like a big 'Ace of Cake' cake, Kendall with a solid all-expense paid Kogan bromance day – the peak of said day being two tickets to WWE, and Carlos with a…

"A book?"

Still in pajamas, bits of eye crust in his eyes, and disheveled hair, Carlos looked extremely satisfied. Grinning, he sat on the foot of Logan's bed. "Not just a book."

Tearing the tacky, ill-wrapped paper, Logan smiled. "The Notebook?"

And that was all he could say before Logan realized _everything_. Every piece of the puzzle fell into place.

"So do you like it?"

Logan raised a fist and punched his friend's arm, shooting daggers to Carlos' direction. "I hate you." then he grinned, "Of course I do, you idiot."

Carlos felt warm and happy that Logan loved his gift, but the icing of the cake was Kendall's smug look being replaced by a defeated one as he dramatically fell on the floor screaming 'no!'


End file.
